Irvine CA — At the 15th annual Ryan Initiative for Macular Research (RIMR) Conference, the Gerald Lutty Memorial Lecture was given by keynote speaker Vinit Mahajan M.D., Ph.D., Stanford professor and vice chair of ophthalmology research.
Mahajan’s lecture, “Is Proteomics the Key to AMD,” examined how his lab’s multi-omics AI platform could lead to breakthroughs in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The platform is based on a tool they created called TEMPO, which traces the expression of thousands of proteins in human eye fluid. Their analysis can identify cellular mechanisms of disease, enhancing diagnosis, optimizing clinical trials, and determining the interplay between aging and disease.
AMD is the leading cause of vision loss for older adults. The disease causes blurry or wavy areas in the central vision that can make it harder to see faces, read, drive, or do household chores. For patients with intermediate AMD, special dietary supplements may be able to stop it from turning into late AMD. Medicines called anti-VEGF drugs that retina surgeons inject in patients' eyes are being used to slow vision loss in wet AMD patients. There is currently no treatment for late-stage dry AMD, making conferences like RIMR extremely important.
Mahajan said, “New technologies make this an exciting time for scientists, because tools like TEMPO give us an understanding of the molecular story behind a disease. And this story can lead to cures, which could make for the happy ending we are all seeking.”
He added, “Over the course of my career, I have seen impossible to treat eye diseases become treatable. This makes me optimistic that we can find better therapies and eventually a cure for AMD.”
Led by Srinivas Sadda MD, Executive Committee Chair for RIMR, Director of the AI Laboratory at Doheny Eye Institute, and Professor, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, RIMR is a working conference where participants from very different backgrounds and disciplines present new ideas to overcome roadblocks in AMD research with the aim of finding solutions that can be used to eliminate vision loss due to AMD.
Mahajan said, “Many of the most important findings coming out of our lab are the result of strategic collaborations with chemists, bioengineers, and data scientists. So I believe RIMR has the right vision for promoting research breakthroughs by bringing experts from a variety of fields together to solve this scientific problem.”
The RIMR vision is that collaborations between basic scientists, engineers, medical researchers, and clinicians will result in new therapies for AMD patients. The RIMR meeting has an impressive history of promoting dozens of new research collaborations that have led to millions of dollars in new federal funding and hundreds of publications.
“It was amazing and inspirational to be with so many experts who are committed to curing AMD. Dr. Sadda did an excellent job organizing this meeting. Faculty in the working groups shared important knowledge and ideas that will inform my research.”